Newspaper racks of the type having coin control, door-accessible mechanisms are frequently subject to vandalism. More particularly, vandals often attempt to remove the coin control mechanism from the newspaper rack so that they can later, at a concealed location, break into the coin control mechanism to gain access to the vault containing the coins. The coin control mechanism, however, must be easily removable from the cabinet for servicing, adjustment, repair and the like. Thus, the coin control mechanism of a newspaper vending machine is frequently removably attached to a plate on the cabinet and then locked in place with a padlock. However, the prior art discloses only padlocks that are attached to the outside of the newspaper cabinet rather than being enclosed within the walls of the cabinet. This type of padlock is more accessible to thieves with bolt cutters and is also exposed to the weather. Some padlock-attached coin control mechanisms mounted to the exterior of the newspaper cabinet have a heavy metal apron or shroud as part of the locking assembly, thus making it more difficult for a thief to break the lock. However, even this is not fool proof and the apron or shroud does not fully weather-enclose the padlock from the elements.
Thus, what is needed is a means to lock, with a padlock, a coin control mechanism for a newspaper vending machine such that the lock is enclosed within the walls of the cabinet, making it less accessible to thieves and more protected from the elements.